Saturday, 21 December 2013

(No, I'm not old enough to remember the song, but my Mum used to sing it to me when I was little, and it's stuck with me ever since.) I'm still loving my Envelope Punch Board for making quick and easy boxes, and I have some more to share with you today.

These are some of the boxes I made these for my Stampers' Ten group this month, and they're really quick and easy to make using the Envelope Punch Board. I really am SO impressed with how easy it is to make boxes with this board - I had no idea it'd be this versatile!

Here are a couple of close-ups:

I made more for my class-goers this month too, in a different colourway. They look totally different:

If you haven't got your Envelope Punch Board yet (and why on earth not?!), then you can order it through my Online Shop.

I'm taking a break now for a few days over Christmas, to spend some much-needed time with my lovely husband. I'll pop back briefly on Christmas Day, but in the meantime, enjoy the festivities - Have a wonderful Christmas! Thanks so much for your support this year! Big hugs. xx

Friday, 20 December 2013

I don't know how I manage it! Every year, I start making Christmas cards in August or September, and every year, without fail, I get close to Christmas and realise I haven't made nearly enough - is it just me?! Anyway, I reckon it's always useful to have some really quick and simple card designs to hand, and here are some that I came up with this year. Very simple, very quick, and absolutely gorgeous, I hope you'll agree!

Beautifully quick to make, and really pretty (although apologies for the grainy photos - the light was AWFUL on the day I took these).

See? I told you cards don't have to be complicated to be beautiful!

Back tomorrow with some cute little gift boxes - another project using the fabulous Envelope Punch Board. Thanks for dropping in!

Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Not long now until the Big Day, are you ready yet? I'm looking forward to all the preparations being over and being able to sit down and enjoy some lovely, quiet time with Alan. In the meantime, though, I've been busy planning lots for you in the New Year, and...

(drum roll please...)

Here's some "save the date" information about my first two events of 2014 (get your diaries out!):

Saturday 18th January - Open Event
If you're in the Ipswich area, come along and join me for a really informal FREE event where you'll be able to try your hand at a simple Make and Take project. There'll be loads of Stampin' Up! products for you to look at, as well as lots of gorgeous samples to inspire and motivate you at the start of the brand new year. A great way to see what crafting is all about, and to grab a sneaky peek at some brand new products that will be released later in the month. (Please note this event will be held at my home, so please contact me if you're intending to come along, and I'll give you the necessary details.)

Saturday 1st February - First Class of 20142:15pm - 4:45pm Cedarwood Primary School, Kesgrave (Ipswich)
My first class of the year is going to be a celebration of love and friendship, with projects for those special people in our lives as we approach Valentine's Day. Full details to follow in the New Year; for now, save the date!

Thanks for popping in - I'll be back soon with some projects for you. Take care! x

Monday, 16 December 2013

They're "Monster Hugs", they're available NOW and they're part of Stampin' Up!'s new Valentine's Day range (I know, I KNOW! There's nothing like planning ahead!). But I think they'd make great kids' party invitations too, or just little notes to send to someone to make them smile. You can tuck a chocolate or other little treat in behind their arms - how cute is that?!

You can find these wonderful little Monster Hugs in our new Valentine's range - which contains loads of other things that aren't necessarily JUST for Valentine's Day.

Saturday, 14 December 2013

Yesterday, I shared with you some of the cards we made at last weekend's class; today I have some more to show you. I hope you enjoy them!

And two more designed by the talented Madonna Dunn:

I loved doing this class! And I think Washi Tape is my new best Crafting Friend - it made decorating these cards so quick and easy (and I love that if you don't stick it down too hard in the first place, you can peel it off and reposition it - brilliant!). I used it on the envelopes too (you've got to have decorated envelopes):

I hope you enjoyed these projects - why not have a go yourself at using some of your craft goodies to make something different from their original purpose? You might surprise yourself!

Friday, 13 December 2013

Last weekend's class was my last class of 2013 - and we had a brilliant time! It was all about quick and easy Christmas cards (that's what you need, right?) and we used a gorgeous kit that was actually designed for scrapbooking, rather than cardmaking - these cards came together so quickly! I'll share some today, and some tomorrow, so for now, here are three of the cards we made:

The cards all centre around the "Season of Style Journalling Tags" kit, which gave us loads of really quick and easy focal points to use. The kit was designed to co-ordinate with Stampin' Up!'s divided scrapbook page protectors (love them!), but as you can see they work brilliantly for cards too.

The inspiration for this class came from some cards I'd seen on Pinterest, that were designed by an Australian demonstrator, Madonna Dunn. I couldn't resist sharing some of her cards in the class, and my ladies (and gent!) loved them too; here is one of them:

Thanks for dropping in, and I'll share more with you tomorrow. Have a lovely day!

Of course, if you'd prefer to, you can still contact me by phone on 01473 622004 or by email, to place your orders - I can arrange delivery anywhere in the UK, France, Germany, Austria or the Netherlands.

Monday, 9 December 2013

Now, this is going to be my very last post-Convention blog post, but I really wanted to share this video with you. It's a compilation of highlights from the first five European Stampin' Up! Conventions, and there are some brilliant photos in it. Enjoy!

The background music is this year's Convention song - make sure you listen to the words. Our theme this year was "Be the Difference", and the song is all about how one person can make such a difference to others. I've been singing it for weeks!

VIDEO POSTS - CAN YOU HELP ME PLEASE?

I hope you enjoyed watching this video - I'm going to use it as an excuse for asking for your help. Starting in the New Year, I'm going to be posting weekly craft tutorial and demonstration videos on my blog, and I'd love you to let me know what you'd like to see. Please would you spare a couple of moments to comment on this post, telling me what sort of tutorials and demonstrations you'd like to see in my videos - I really want to be covering what YOU want me to. Thanks so much for your help!

Friday, 6 December 2013

A lovely part of any meet-up of Stampin' Up! demonstrators is the swaps we share with each other. Here are some of the ones I received this year.

If you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, swaps are sample card-fronts or other small projects. We each design something and make it in bulk, then swap with other demonstrators. In the past, I've been really bad at sharing these on my blog, but I'm intending to "do better in future."

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Oh wow - you are going to LOVE this! Imagine being able to turn your ideas into your Very Own Stamps.... You NEED to watch this video:

Isn't that the most incredible idea? They gave us little trial packs at Convention to have a go with. I haven't had the chance to play yet, but Alan did. Here's the stamp he made - I think it's brilliant!

And here's the card I made from it - really simple, to show off the image. So proud of my husband!

I can't wait to have a go. Shame I completely forgot to add a kit to the order I put through today - d'oh!! I knew there was something I'd forgotten. I'm not sure why I always remember what it is just AFTER I've hit "send". Ah well, looks like I'll be placing another order VERY soon...

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If you'd like to try your hand at carving your own stamps, then the new "Undefined" stamp carving range is now available through my online shop. You can find it here.

If you'd rather, you can order from me in person. Just give me a call on 01473 622004 and I'll do the rest!

Monday, 2 December 2013

I have a confession to make. I don't do a lot of crafting at Convention. There - I said it! Convention, for me, is all about meeting up with lovely friends and colleagues that I don't see very often. In fact, there are some friends that I don't get to see apart from at Convention, so there is lots of catching up and sharing to be done. And great fun it is too!

That said, however, I do make a point of doing the Convention make and take projects when I'm back home, and I wanted to show you photos of them. Here are a couple, for starters:

I love this one, for example - it's very different from my usual style, but I really enjoyed making it. Stamping all the various layers for the background was really therapeutic! The same technique was used on the matching envelope:

And how about this one as a lovely idea for gift-wrapping?

I love the lid that's been added underneath the acetate wrap, keeping the present a secret until it's opened. Making the cute little feathers was fun, too. (I'm seeing feathers EVERYWHERE in craft at the moment!)

Thanks for dropping in, I'll be back soon with more for you. Watch out on Wednesday for video details of a fabulous new product line - you're going to love it!

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Both these projects use stamp sets that we received (free!) at Convention: "Gorgeous Grunge" and "Hello, Lovely". You can find both of these in my online shop, just click on the following links for more information about each of them.

Saturday, 30 November 2013

One of the things I love about Stampin' Up! is that as a company it devotes a lot of time and energy to charitable causes. There's even a stamp set - "Tag It" - in our catalogue from which a portion of the proceeds goes to the Ronal McDonald House Charities ("RMHC"), which help families who have children with serious illnesses. At Convention, we were all given the chance to make two cards, to be given to RMHC, both of which use the "tag It" stamp set.

Here's the first one. (Excuse the fingers in the shot - it was a very quick pic taken when I'd made the card and it wouldn't lie flat without me holding it shut!)

This is a really good example of how a stamp set can suddenly come to life when you use it. I never really took to this set for some reason, but I love this card! And now, having seen loads of other projects using it, I think you might be seeing a lot more of it in future...

Friday, 29 November 2013

Fancy having a look for yourself at how much fun Convention was? Here's a video of some of the highlights....

I can't wait for next year!

If you'd love to be a part of this in Brussels next October, then drop me an email or call me to have a chat about joining my amazing team of demonstrators. You can find out more by clicking on this link.

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Woohoo - we're back! This is me with some of my wonderful team members in front of the stage at this year's Stampin' Up! European Convention. We're just back from an amazing few days there, and we had a ball! Watch out on my website and on my Facebook and Twitter feeds for photos and updates - there is so much to share with you all that I couldn't possibly fit it all in here.

Joining Stampin' Up! is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I've never come across a business that more generously and fairly rewards its demonstrators, and I feel so privileged to be involved with this wonderful group of people. If you'd like to have your own crafting business - where you control your hours and and determine how much or little you want to put into it, with no pressure to do anything that you don't want to do, and as much support as you need to achieve your own goals - then I'd love to hear from you.

Email me (click the link) or call me on 01473 622004 for a no obligation chat.

Saturday, 23 November 2013

Hello! I hope you liked the swaps I shared with you yesterday. I loved the layout, so used a similar one when creating this month's thank you cards for my customers. This is what I came up with:

The image was stamped using a technique that I taught at one of my Tantalising Technique classes a few months back, and it's one I love - using baby wipes to create multicoloured images. I think the effect here is really pretty. I hope you like it!

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You can find everything used in this card, in my Online Shop. Here are the main items I used - just put the item numbers in the search box when you're in my online shop, and you'll be taken straight to them:

Betsy's Blossoms Stamp Set (wood: 131955; cling: 126006)

Teeny Tiny Sentiments Stamp Set (wood: 130042 ; cling:120024)

Silver Glimmer Paper 124005

Circles Collection Framelits 130911

Labels Card Thinlits Die (for the banner) 133479

Bitty Butterfly Punch 129406

Basic Rhinestones 119246

The cardstock and inks used were: Smoky Slate, Pool Party and Wisteria Wonder

Friday, 22 November 2013

Hello! As you're reading this, I'm in the thick of this year's Stampin' Up! European Convention in Manchester - having a whale of a time with several hundred fellow demonstrators. You really should be here (why not sign up so you can join us at the next one?).

When Stampin' Up! Demonstrators meet up, we all take "swaps" with us. Swaps are small samples of our work, usually a card front. We each make lots of these, and then we swap them with other demonstrators, so we end up with loads of ideas to take away with us. Here are the ones that I've taken along to Convention this year:

I wanted to include lots Silver Glimmer Paper as this year is Stampin' Up!'s twenty-fifth (silver) anniversary, and I love how it looks when used with this Soft Sky / Wisteria Wonder / Smoky Slate combination. The stamp is one of the single stamps that Stampin' Up! has issued for this Christmas. It's called "Wonderful Blessing", and you can find it in my Online Shop here.

I'm looking forward to being able to share with you some of the gorgeous swaps that I will be receiving at Convention - watch this space!

Wednesday, 20 November 2013

Have you promised yourself that THIS will be the year that you make your Christmas cards?

Would you like to have a stack of ideas for quick and easy Christmas cards that you can make in a flash?

Well, help is at hand, because December's "Cards ...and More" class is all about giving you just that! We'll be using the "Season of Style" Journalling Tags to create a range of fabulous cards to take the pressure off you this Christmas. No fuss, no faffing, just lots of ideas for fabulous cards that will really WOW your friends and family.

I'd love to see you there for a fun, stress-busting afternoon, but you'll need to hurry, as places are limited!Find out more by clicking here- and treat yourself to an afternoon of getting another thing ticked off that loooong Christmas to-do list.

Saturday, 16 November 2013

Here's a look at the project we made at my classes this month - a beautiful Christmas-themed banner. I only wish the photo could show you how splendidly glittery it is! We're definitely into Autumn now, and I just couldn't seem to get decent light to take a picture to show you, but hopefully you can see just about enough.

This was such a fun class! I shared my secrets for putting together the perfect rosette, as well as some hints and tips for decorating the pennants beautifully without making an inky mess, and the ladies spent a wonderful afternoon pleating, inking and sparkling (literally!).

Here are some close-ups of some of the elements of the banner, so you can see a bit more detail. Again, I'm not sure the colours have come out terribly well, so apologies for that!

If you'd like to join us for our next class, booking is open until 29th November. You can find out more information by clicking here.

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We used the following to make our banners - all available at my Online Shop as usual.

Friday, 15 November 2013

Hello! I'm still playing with my new Envelope Punch Board, and finding out more and more things that I can do with it. Here are some of the cute little treats that I made for the ladies in my Stampers' Ten clubs recently:

Aren't they sweet? I forgot to take a photo of the inside of them, but they are just big enough to hold a mini-chocolate bar (a little KitKat, that kind of thing). Who doesn't love getting chocolate?!

These little treat packs don't take long to make, maybe five minutes maximum - and that's if you have to wrestle with the bows to get them to sit properly - and they look so gorgeous that I know I'll be making loads more.

Here are some close ups of the treats:

If you'd like to have a go at making these yourself, then here's how you do it:

Cut a 4.5" x 4.5" square of Designer Series Paper

Line up the edge of the DSP with the half inch mark on the Envelope Punch Board. Score and punch, then turn the paper ninety degrees. Line up the scoreline with the pointer, score and punch again. Continue all the way round.

Pop your KitKat (other chocolate bars are available!!) onto the DSP so you can see how the pouch goes together. Cut away the bottom corner of the DSP (about half an inch should be enough), and round the opposite corner using the reverse side of the punch on the Envelope Board.

Wrap the DSP round your chocolate and secure with a ribbon bow.

Enjoy!

If you'd like to receive a handmade gift from me every month, as well as getting free Stampin' Up! goodies without needing to host a party, then you can if you join one of my Stampers' Ten clubs. Find out more here.

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You can find the things I used in my Online Shop. Here are the links:

Saturday, 9 November 2013

I'm having great fun with my new Circle Card Thinlits die! Here's another card I made this week; this one was to welcome a lovely lady as the most recent member of my team of Independent Stampin' Up! demonstrators. The envelope was - of course! - made to match using my other new crafting favourite, the Envelope Punch Board.

Here's a better look at the card itself.

The fab thing about these cards is that they flip, to reveal a message on the other side of the circle:

I always like to give my new team members a swatch book of all Stampin' Up!'s colours of cardstock - something that they will hopefully find useful as they start out on their Stampin' Up! journey. Here's the outside of the one I made to match this card:

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As always, you can find everything I've used in my Online Shop. Here are the main things used in these projects:

Friday, 8 November 2013

A few days ago, on the Sunshine Stamping Facebook page, I posted a photo of one of the Hallowe'en cards I'd made. You can see it here. Although the card shape looks as if I'd spent hours cutting and scoring, it's actually made using the Big Shot and a brilliant new die: the Thinlits Circle Card die. It's great fun to use!

Here is the very first card I made using this die.

At this stage, I hadn't worked out how to cut layers that echoed the circle in the centre, so I decorated it in a different way. I quite like this - not bad for a first attempt, I think.

What do you reckon?

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If you want to, you can find the things I used over in my online shop. Here's the die and stamp sets from this project, along with links to each item.

Monday, 4 November 2013

I'm loving making bespoke envelopes at the moment! Here is a gift I made a couple of weeks ago:

And here's what was inside it:

This is a closer look at the brooch - I love this!

Sparkly! The photo really doesn't do it justice. I've used one of the beautiful Frosted Finishes embellishments - I just popped it onto a couple of circles of cardstock, then stuck the whole lot onto a brooch pin.

And of course you can't have a gift without a card to go with it, and here is that card:

You can see the contrasting inside of the envelope on this one - really pretty!

The envelopes were made very quickly and easily using Stampin' Up!'s new Envelope Punch Board. It's my new "cant-do-without" tool! If you want to see it in action, have a look at this video that Stampin' Up! have produced:

You can buy everything I've used in these projects (except the brooch pin) from my online shop. Here is a list of the main item codes you'll need:

Welcome!

Hello - and thanks for dropping in! This blog is current up to the 6th February 2014. If you want to see more up to date entries, then please visit the new Sunshine Stamping website at www.sunshinestamping.com . I look forward to seeing you over there!

Copyright Statement

All items (unless indicated otherwise) have been created by me, Becki Ritson, for Sunshine Stamping. The contents of this blog are my sole responsibility as an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. All Stampin' Up! images are copyright Stampin' Up! 1990 - 2014

All content including text, photographs and projects are copyright Becki Ritson. My artwork is shared for your personal enjoyment and inspiration only and is not intended for submission to contests, publications or for personal monetary gain. If you wish to use the contents for any other purpose please contact me at becki@sunshinestamping.com, or on 07799 011072